V-W Day

On Sundays we celebrate V-W Day — Victory Wilderness Day. Just as the Allied Forces celebrated first V-E Day, Victory Europe, then V-J Day, Victory Japan, so the church celebrates V-W Day whenever it meets to worship the living God. Jesus’ victory over the devil in the wilderness set the stage for his ultimate victory over sin and death, a condition that the devil fostered when he persuaded Eve to eat the forbidden fruit.

One chapter of that redemptive plan was God’s choosing of Israel, as a son, to be a “light to the nations.” He entered into covenant with them and gave them laws that, in the words of Moses, would be their “wisdom and . . . understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people’” (Deuteronomy 4:6). God had purposed to use Israel to carry out his promise to Abraham that in him “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:4). But Israel failed its duties. How would this be rectified? God himself would provide his only-begotten Son who would accomplish what his rebellious chosen son had not. 

That Jesus fulfilled this role is evident in the struggle in the wilderness. His answers to the devil’s temptations designate him as the representative Israel, the true Israel. His being tempted over the course of 40 days is surely an allusion to the 40 years that Israel wandered in the wilderness. Yet, where they doubted, rebelled, complained, and died, Jesus would trust, obey, be content, and live. He is fully aware of the task he has been given and he remains obedient, at peace, and confident of his Father’s love. 

The devil was defeated and “departed from him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). Yet, even that opportune time, when “Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot” (Luke 22:3) and led him to betray Jesus into the hands of the Jewish leaders and the Roman magistrate, was something that happened “according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:13). 

Poor devil. He thinks he’s clever, that he still has a chance. But, in the words of Martin Luther, “Lo! his doom is sure. One little Word shall fell him!”

The Revealer of Hearts

Nearly all of us will pass through life unheralded. Our sojourn, while important to those with whom we have shared life, will likely not make it into the pages of history books. But there are those few who come into the world who go on to play a kind of super-human role in the destiny of their fellow human beings. And among such people there are those whose influence is so significant that they define categories by which we judge not only them but those who agree or disagree with them.  For instance, if Martin Luther King, Jr., is mentioned in a discussion one would likely discover what people think about him and, in turn, a lot about those involved in the discussion. The same could be said about Marx, Hitler, or Mandela. Such people become a benchmark, for good or evil, and their existence demands an opinion. As such, these oversized people have the power to reveal hearts.

To whatever extent this might be said of any particular person, it takes on eternal significance when it comes to Jesus. Simeon prophesied (Luke 2:25) that Jesus “was appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed” so that “thoughts from many hearts maybe revealed”. This is clearly demonstrated in an encounter at the house of Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:36-50). Jesus had been invited to dine and from the moment he arrived and took his place at the table a woman, described as “a sinner” (a prostitute?), wiped, kissed, and anointed his feet. This extraordinary display of love and gratitude for Jesus laid bare, as Simeon had prophesied, the hard heart of Simon: “[W]hen the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.’”

Jesus is on a mission to save people. For those who receive him he gives “the right to become children of God” (John 1:12), for those who reject him he becomes “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense” (1 Peter 2:8). The sinful woman was grateful, the Pharisee, scornful. As a result they were an eternity apart in their understanding of what his presence meant. That staggering consequence is still in play when Jesus is made known to people today.